I've had an invitation to pop along to a Lexus promotion day. It's hosted at a stately (just up the road as it happens) and allows you to test drive a number of cars from the range.
It's tomorrow and I'll let you know how it goes.
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IanS
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Had great time at the Lexus Open Day yesterday. Format was 30+ cars from across the Lexus range parked on a nice lawn in front of the stately home. You register and are offered the choice of the range! They take you to the car, give you the keys and off you go on your own. No sales patter or anything. Their suggested route was a good mix of 16 miles or so of country lanes and dual carriageway and, as I live nearby, the roads were familiar to me.
As I arrived early I went out first in 54 grands worth of SC430, followed by the RX 400h (4x4 hybrid) and finally the GS300.
As I've never really driven cars of this class, I'm not going to provide a review of each one (I've no idea what I'm comparing them with), however I would say the 280 odd bhp provided by the SC430 makes me grin every time I recall its acceleration onto the A11! This was the first automatic I'd ever driven - not a bad one to start with ........
Between your drives, coffee and bacon rolls aplenty were supplied in the very pleasant reception rooms of the country pile. Apparently, Lexus are doing some 35 of these events across the country. I recommend it, if you can get to one. Thanks Lexus.
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IanS
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Bacon rolls? Cor blimey guv, last time I went to one of these they gave us canapes and vol au vents.
Sounds like they've improved it then.
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They did try to turn my head with some more delicate refreshments but I went straight for the bacon. No sauce though.
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IanS
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But are you evem remotely tempted to buy one, now or in the future? Which I think would be the hope of Lexus.
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Nah, not really! For the money, I suspect that there are better cars out there than the SC430, fun though it was. Same applies for the others that I tried.
I've always thought that the IS was a good alternative to the BMW 3 series etc so I guess that I would consider one if I was buying.
Could the experience change my buying habits? Well we're on our 3rd Renault and prior to the first one we were regulary swamped with free brollies, watches etc. Maybe it does work....
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IanS
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I'm insanely jealous. Since my (admittedly very old) GS sale fell through, I seem to be noticing them a lot more.
Very underrated in my opinion and unfairly overlooked a lot of the time.
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I agree the SC430 is not a goer, in the sense there is much better metal out there at that price. I recently swapped out my GS for a Jaguar S-type, until I can track down something I prefer, and spent the first couple of weeks thinking yes, it's ok but nothing like as refined as the GS, and utterly toyless.
But I admit the Jag offers me a nicer driv, and the ride is good.
I'd still snap up a new shape LS430 if/when the right one comes along though, even if they are nothing to look at. I was sold on one of those on a recent rtest drive when the airvents started to move left and right automatically to waft air where they felt I would like it...
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So you quite liked it then?
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I went to one of these a while ago. 'Orrible rattles from the passenger door on the open top job. And this was being driven by loads of potential customers. Do they care ? Apparently not.
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Lakelad, per your Toyota thread I get the impression that rattles are a big problem for you. Can't say that I noticed any on Wednesday but perhaps you have a more discerning ear.
Must say that we were very well looked after by Lexus. Staff arriving with brollies to make sure we did n't get wet etc, etc.
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IanS
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The SC430 is pretty flawed in many respects. I went to a Lexus driving day at transport research laboratories in berkshire. Tested all the models in a variety of situations. Yes, initially, there was much interest in the SC430. AFter testing it's ability to stop and steer using ABS from high speed, people saw how much of a "posing" machine it was. With the top down, emergency braking left it going all over the place with zero driver confidence. Lovely interior though. A nice place to be when stuck in traffic. Everyone migrated to the LS430 by the end of the day, impressed by all it's gizmos and swiftness.
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Round the Bend - you refer to Wednesday and I think that we are referring to different events. I went to one near Penrith (Cumbria) a few months ago. I agree that rattles are a problem. Car makers like Toyota have built millions of cars and should be able to produce them rattle - free in spite of their complexity. The dealer I dealt with has in stock some self adhesive pads which they use to try (!) and sort dashboard rattles. Some drivers simply turn the radio volume up and good luck to them. Others prefer to get it sorted.
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